US Racism and Maryknoll Charisms
Hugh Menton – Greater Los Angeles Chapter
Last January our Affiliate chapter considered racism as a possible focus for 2020. Another theme was chosen, Care for the Earth, but this was modified after George Floyd’s murder on May 25 in Minneapolis and the cellphone video by 17-year old Darnella Frazier, which went viral.
Since Floyd’s murder, our Chapter has also considered racism, including five of us participating with other people of faith in an eight-week JustFaith Ministries program, “Faith and Racial Healing.” This has taken me on a personal journey, although, as I reflect, I have been on this journey all my life. From my early childhood in a segregated post-World War II public housing complex in Richmond, California, where school integration fomented white flight to the suburbs, racism has been present but often unseen. Even in a 1960s integrated teacher training program in segregated Omaha, Nebraska, I did not recognize the pain of my Black roommate or Black friends and colleagues on our intern team or in an all-Black elementary school.
The last four months have opened my eyes in new ways. I don’t feel guilt. Jeffrey Robinson, a Harvard law school graduate and attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, mentions the same type of blindness. He shares in “History of Racism, Parts I and II” (available on YouTube) that even as a Black man, who grew up in the 1960s in Memphis, Tennessee with the Civil Rights Movement happening out his front door, only in the past four years has he realized the depth of racism in the US. In fact, he was in denial about aspects of racism in criminal justice until a young intern put a report in front of him and Jefferson started to read and educate himself. I have been on a Robinson-style journey.
Bryan Stevenson, founder of Just Mercy.
Bryan Stevenson, another Black attorney and a person of faith, entered my consciousness recently. Stevenson is best known for his book and film, Just Mercy, and his founding of the Equal Justice Initiative. In a New York City presentation, “Grace, Justice and Mercy: An Evening with Bryan Stevenson and Rev. Tim Keller” (also available on YouTube), he spoke as a believer and a person of hope, touching on a sense that Maryknoll promotes—presence to others. It started me reflecting on how the Maryknoll charisms (pillars)—Spirituality, Community, Global, Action—can be used to respond to racism.
Stevenson mentions the deep, deep sense of hope springing from Black spirituality. In a presentation on the arts and spirituality, Boston University theologians have suggested that singing together brings empathy and connection. Can Maryknoll Affiliates, who believe so strongly in Spirituality, take steps to foster such a connection in our communities?
Stevenson also elaborated on Community, a pillar of Maryknoll that is unachievable, as Stevenson suggests, without a sense of presence. Maryknoll understands this well. I have observed that the work of Maryknoll Lay Missioners in El Salvador began with them being present to the people and continued through maintaining that presence in the community. Can Maryknoll Affiliates be present to Black communities?
Most Black speakers on racism in the US do not look to worldwide people of faith, beyond Gandhi, Mandela, and Desmond Tutu. However, the Affiliates, through the pillar of Global Vision that Maryknoll promotes, have the gift of other global perspectives. Can the Affiliates bring their perspectives on race from Asia, Africa, South and Central America, and Mexico to bear on US racism?
Lastly, the pillar of Action, in which Stevenson has been completely immersed, flows from the other pillars, as Maryknoll knows so well. Can the Affiliates be guided by their spirituality, presence to Black communities, sense of community, and global insights to undo racism in the US?
May the journey continue.
This article first appeared in the November/December 2020 issue of Not So Far Afield.